The Legal 500

Clients directed to Appleby's trusts/private client group are 'very fortunate indeed'. The practice is frequently involved in the jurisdiction's major trust litigations and has an experienced non-contentious trusts advisory capability team. Key matters included advising on behalf of the executor of a deceased Norwegian settlor of a Cayman Islands trust, successfully applying to the Grand Court to remove the trustee of the PB & EB Trusts established by the deceased, and obtaining the appointment of new trustees in an action against the former trustee for breach of fiduciary duty, loss and damage. Widely praised by his peers, Cayman group practice head Carlos de Serpa Pimentel is 'very much at the forefront of Caymanian trust practice'.

Maples and Calder 'provides prompt responses, even at short notice'. Work highlights included acting for financial institutions on standard trust precedents and related contractual documentation, including their standard terms of business, in addition to advising them on the establishment of structures for specific clients. On the contentious side, the practice acted for trustee BoA/Merrill Lynch in an international trust dispute. Justin Appleyard heads the team, Nigel Porteous is highly regarded, and Colin McKie spends a substantial amount of his time on trust disputes.

Charles Adams, Ritchie & Duckworth has a strong reputation for expertise in the formation of private and commercial trusts. The firm has been instructed in relation to large family settlements in the Cayman Islands, and has extensive experience in drafting complex trust instruments. In addition, the firm is actively involved in the development of innovative amendments to local trust laws. Antony Duckworth is recommended.

Conyers Dill & Pearman's 'service is excellent'. The trust disputes and private client team was created in September 2009 and receives instructions from prominent UK and US firms on both contentious and non-contentious matters. The team advised on the establishment of a highly bespoke sharia-compliant Cayman Islands-registered private trust company and underlying trust for an UHNW Dubai settler and his family. Litigation head Nigel Meeson QC leads the group and the 'extremely competent' David Pytches specialises in all areas of non-contentious private and commercial trusts law, wills and succession planning; Pytches is 'an excellent trust lawyer and a very safe pair of hands'. Contentious trust expert Bernadette Carey 'demonstrates an in-depth appreciation of trust issues'. Clients say that although Sara Collins' retirement from the practice was 'a sad loss to the firm, the excellence of its trust advice remains undimmed'.

Walkers's 'great depth of knowledge of the trust industry is extremely valuable'. Andrew Miller heads the firm's global trusts group, specialising in non-contentious trust work. Miller recently acted for an UHNW Russian individual on the establishment of a restricted trust license trust company. Anthony Partridge acts in non-contentious trust and cross-border succession matters, with particular expertise in resealing foreign grants of probate in the Grand Court of the Cayman Islands.

Rated for its 'timeliness, expertise and dedication', Mourant Ozannes' representative experience includes advising on all aspects of the establishment and ongoing management of private and commercial trusts. The practice also acts for settlers, trustees, beneficiaries and protectors in trust disputes. Additionally, the firm provides online access to a suite of Cayman Islands trust precedents. The international trusts group in the Cayman office is led by widely rated lawyer Morven McMillan, who joined the firm in October 2010 from Charles Russell LLP in London, where she was formerly a partner, and head of the trusts and fiduciary disputes group. Lucy Diggle also recently joined from Charles Russell LLP, where she was a member of the trusts and fiduciary disputes team. Hector Robinson and Peter Hayden are experienced in high-value trust litigation.

Ogier's private client and trusts legal team has extensive experience in advising on the establishment and administration of private trusts, purpose trusts and other vehicles typically used by private clients, as well as being well versed in establishing and administrating such entities. The firm's private wealth division is a multi-jurisdictional independent administrator of offshore trusts, foundations and other asset-holding vehicles, and it is able to administer structures under the laws of the Cayman Islands. The team regularly advises trustees in relation to their duties and liabilities, and it recently acted on the restructuring and redomiciliation of trusts. Giorgio Subiotto is 'knowledgeable, responsive and practical'; Christopher Russell is 'exceedingly responsive and reliable'; and Neil Kandelaars is also a key contact.